Egypt rushes to vote on new constitution

CAIRO — Racing against a looming court ruling and an escalating political crisis, the leaders of Egypt's constitutional assembly began voting Thursday on a permanent charter for the country that independent analysts called hastily drafted and ill-defined.

Islamists dominated the assembly, and almost all of the political opposition had walked out.

The assembly's chairman, Judge Hossam El-Gheriani, began with a vote to replace 11 members who boycotted the session in protest over the Islamist-dominated chamber's push to wrap up debate. One delegate pleaded for more time to try to reach a greater consensus.

“We shouldn't rush the draft of the constitution because we're afraid of this or that, or because there's a ‘million man' march today or tomorrow,” the delegate, Mohamed Mohyi El Deen, said, referring to fears of the court decision and street protests expected to reach a new peak today.

Some secular political groups “want to topple the constituent assembly” to embarrass its Islamist leaders, he acknowledged, while the Islamists were eager to complete the document “to save the president,” Mohammed Morsi, an ally who would suffer politically if the assembly was dissolved.

Mohyi El Deen pleaded for the members on both sides to put politics and factions aside so they could think first of their country.

“Our politics are different but our ultimate goal is Egypt,” he said.

But El-Gheriani, the chairman, would not be delayed, and he refused to wait for those who had boycotted. “We will start work, and we're waiting for them to catch up to us,” he said.

The rush to complete the charter took place against the backdrop of the political crisis set off last week when Morsi sought to declare his own decree above judicial scrutiny until the constitution was complete.

Morsi said he needed the power to protect the assembly from dissolution by judges appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed last year, and extend its deadline by two months so its members could reach consensus.

His move aroused alarms about a new autocracy and disregard for the rule of law, and a backlash against him has brought hundreds of thousands to the streets and sparked attacks on his party's offices around the country.